


take my hand (I'll teach you to dance)

by notsafeforowls



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-18 18:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20196352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notsafeforowls/pseuds/notsafeforowls
Summary: "Oh, no, I can't dance."(Missing scene from 4x09.)





	take my hand (I'll teach you to dance)

**Author's Note:**

> Title from All About Us by He Is We.

Zari watches the guests at the function carefully. Nate’s parents are talking to people – reporters, maybe, and some people she thinks are probably the kind of people who will donate hundreds or thousands to the foundation if they hear the right words – while Ava fidgets uncomfortable on the opposite side of the room. She’s not sure who she wants to avoid more. Nate’s parents are nice – his mom is a lot like Nate, and Zari’s not sure why that’s a surprise – but Zari feels uncomfortable talking to her when she’s investigating her husband for experimenting on magical fugitives.

“You look really nice,” Nate says as he joins her beside the table, handing her a glass of water (even the water here is served in nice glasses) and downing his own in one gulp. “That dress is, uh, really nice.” He makes a face. “Pretend I said something better than that.”

Zari smiles and quickly tries to hide it by taking a sip of her own water. “Oh, no, I’m never forgetting that. I can’t wait until you have to dress up for something and I can tell you that you look ‘really nice.’”

“I can’t wait. So, uh,” he gestures towards the handful of couples dancing, “do you want to dance?”

“Oh, no, I can’t dance.” Singing, that’s Zari’s thing. And musical instruments. Her knowledge of rhythm doesn’t translate to dance. “My mom tried to teach me when I was a kid, but after the third broken mug and the time I managed to break my little toe, she gave up.”

“Ouch. Do you see that woman over there?” Nate points to a woman who looks old enough to be his grandmother, or maybe even his great-grandmother. “She taught me how to dance when I was a kid. She has four sons, all haemophiliacs, so she’s been here every year that I can remember. One year, she saw that I looked bored, and she taught me to dance so that I could avoid having to talk to people.”

Ava’s getting closer between anxious glances towards the door, looking more awkward by the second.

“On second thoughts, maybe I can try to dance if you’re so good at it,” Zari says, grabbing Nate’s sleeve and pulling him away from the tables before Ava can say anything to them.

“Hey, wait, I didn’t say I was good!”

They’re still off to the side enough that there aren’t too many people around, but they’re far enough away from everyone else that Nate’s mom takes one look at them and goes back to her conversation. Great, that’s one problem solved. The other, though…

Nate’s staring at her with his mouth half open, his arms awkwardly raised but his hands still several inches away from her waist, as if he isn’t quite sure what he’s supposed to do.

“I thought you said you could dance.” Zari takes his hands and puts one on her waist, where she thinks it’s supposed to go. It’s not as if she’s much of an expert. She’s always been better with technology than anything involving other people. The only piece of tech she’s ever encountered that insults you is Gideon, and even then, it’s usually more that she’s annoyed than that she just doesn’t like Zari. And her insults are never personal. “Come on, Heywood, show me that all those years of lessons paid off.”

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. If I step on your toes, you can’t kick me with those heels on.”

“I promise that I’ll take the shoes off first.” She’ll be getting rid of them as soon as possible. They’re _killing_ her feet.

It’s not as if Zari has anything to measure it against, but as Nate slowly guides her through the movements, she starts to think that he’s pretty good. Not as weirdly dramatic as Sara and Ava are – whatever they’re talking about, they’re putting everyone around them in danger as they dance, Zari’s a little worried that a shoe’s going to go flying soon – but there’s a steadiness to the way he dances. She can hear him keeping track of something, either the beat or the steps, under his breath, and he keeps squeezing her hand every so often.

His hand is very warm, Zari thinks idly as he dips her and she squeezes it a little tighter than absolutely necessary. Her dress is thin enough that she can feel Nate’s other hand on her waist as well. As they straighten up – does it look as graceful as it feels? – she moves closer to him, copying his steps the best she can. And she does not think about how nice Nate feels against her, and Zari _definitely_ doesn’t think about how much nicer all of that carefully controlled strength would be if they weren’t dressed up for the fundraiser. Those are the kind of thoughts that keep her awake at night, or end with her trying to avoid looking him in the eye the next time she sees him.

“I thought you couldn’t dance,” Nate says quietly, letting out an amused little huff when Zari looks up at him in confusion. “You’re keeping up with me just fine.”

Which, of course, is immediately followed by Zari stepping on Nate’s toes hard enough that he winces.

“Sorry!” Zari drops his hands and takes a step back before she can accidentally step on the other foot. “My mom always said she was surprised that I only broke my toe and not someone else’s.”

Nate laughs. “It’s okay, I’ve had worse,” he says, but he quietens down as he the music dies down and he and Zari both watch Sara leave. “Why do I have a bad feeling about that?”

“Let’s be honest, is there anything we don’t have a bad feeling about right now?” Zari gestures towards the front of the room. “Come on, let’s get back to work.”


End file.
